By the way, the little script I wrote to automate uploading is pretty simple and I'd be happy to share it with you guys if you want it. It's just a batch file and an FTP script, and then you use the Windows scheduler to have it run as frequently as you want.

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What do you need to run it? Because I caught the Minecraft bug the other night and spent yesterday building a bridge over to my monster trap, and now I have a hankering to convert that area into some sort of containment facility with walls and warning signs everywhere about the dangers of a containment breach. The world I uploaded is already out of date.

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Nothing other than Windows. I just have a batch file and it uses the command-line FTP client built into Windows. I'm sure it would be easy as pie to write a *nix shell script to do something similar, too.

All you need is an FTP server where you have permission to upload stuff.

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Derp derp, I'm an idiot. You also need a command-line zip utility for packaging the world files. I use 7zip, but you could use anything. Maybe I could turn it into a Python script...

Yeah, Ben, I agree. So, it seems like half-assed Biomes that don't even really act like Biomes. What was the point then? It's severely undercutting the potential. Feels like the kind of updates we get are scattered all over the place with no real improvements to what's already out there.

i've decieded to buy minecraft and i have a question, what dose the stone cubes look like?.
so far i'v got gravel,sand and dirt not sure what they all do yet.
are there certain areas that make certain cubes?

Stone is stone-like. It's grey. You'll either find it in cliff-faces or under a few meters of dirt. You can't mine it by hand though, you'll need a wooden pick, which you can craft from wood, which you collect by punching tree trunks. Here's the crafting chart to explain all the different tools and how they're made.

Certain resources can only be found at certain levels (diamond, gold and others are very deep under the surface), and snow and ice only exist in snow biomes, but other than that you should be able to find everything else anywhere in the world. Except for blocks native to the Nether realm, but if you're just starting out you shouldn't be thinking about going to the Nether yet.

Gravel - Chunks of small pebbles that actually obey gravity. Very easy to dig through (i.e down stand under them while you dig). For about every ten blocks of gravel you dig you get a piece of Flint, which can be used to make a firestarter, or arrows.

You can destroy anything with your fist if you have enough patience, but you can only harvest stone blocks and minerals using a pickaxe. A wooden pickaxe allows you to harvest coal and stone, a stone pickaxe allows you to harvest lapis lazuli and iron, an iron pickaxe allows you to harvest redstone, gold and diamonds, and a diamond pickaxe allows you to harvest obsidian. Obsidian is the strongest material in the game (excluding bedrock, which is unbreakable) and it's used to make portals to the Nether realm.

Also keep in mind that gold is not very useful for making any tools (shovels, pickaxes, axes, hoes, swords). While you can do it, they're relatively low-durability items and not worth wasting the comparatively rare gold on.

Sand obeys gravity but sandstone does not. It can be hard to tell the difference sometimes, until you get up close.

Definitely make use of the Minecraft Wiki to learn all about the game mechanics! It is always being updated as the game is enhanced so I use it to find out about new blocks and whatnot as they are made available.

^You never see them the first time. Some better advice would be; if you suddenly hear a loud bang, see your items strewn across a small crater and the respawn screen comes up, then you've just encountered a creeper!

You have a point. They do tend to make my mornings a bit nervous. I'm currently flatting a large area to have somewhere to plant wheat and things. And have my do... eh... wolf-house when it's time for the next update..

Try to keep your house close to your spawn point. That way, you don't have to trek several thousand miles against generally identical pieces of land only to find out you've been going the wrong way.

Failing that, build a giant dirt tower and put a ton of torches on top and all around the side.

Adding to some useful information about resources...

Gunpowder - An advanced resource that makes TNT and is very difficult to harvest, because it only has one source- giant green exploding... things. Creepers. You have to kill it with a weapon; gunpowder is NOT dropped by detonated Creepers.

String - A resource that's slightly easier to collect, but still not a cakewalk. These are dropped by Spiders, and you need them to make bows. Spiders are passive during the day, so this is a pretty good time to collect it, but they'll still defend themselves once you attack.

Redstone - A HIGHLY advanced resource that is found near bedrock level (the bottom limit of the map). You can use it to create advanced electrical contraptions, like TNT cannons, code-locked doors, lava traps, and other crazy things. One block generally yields about 6-8 Redstone pieces. As mentioned above, you need an iron pick to mine it, or you'll just destroy the block without getting anything.

I’ve been able to focus on development a lot the last couple of weeks, and we’re hoping to get the new update out soon. It will include the wolves, the ability to change your spawn point, and a rather ambitious statistics tracking and achievement system. Once that update is out, we’ll spend some time figuring out exactly what to do with the modding, which should result in a nice modding API.

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We will finally be able to change our spawn points!

I can't really give a fuck about having an achievement system, though.

I’ve been able to focus on development a lot the last couple of weeks, and we’re hoping to get the new update out soon. It will include the wolves, the ability to change your spawn point, and a rather ambitious statistics tracking and achievement system. Once that update is out, we’ll spend some time figuring out exactly what to do with the modding, which should result in a nice modding API.

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We will finally be able to change our spawn points!

I can't really give a fuck about having an achievement system, though.

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I find the idea of achievements pretty interesting. It'll give you something to do in addition to simple survival. But I guess we'll have to see how it turns out.